Is hand sanitizer bad for you?
For everyday use on your hands, no. The real risks are swallowing it, contaminated products, fire and eyes. Here’s how to avoid each.
The real risks
Swallowing it
FDA warns that even a small amount can cause alcohol poisoning in a child. Poison centers get calls about it every month, mostly for children under 5.
Contaminated products
During COVID-19, FDA found some sanitizers made with methanol or 1-propanol, which are toxic, and some contaminated with benzene, which can cause cancer.
Fire
Sanitizer is flammable until it dries. Let your hands dry completely before you go near a stove, candle, grill or sparks.
Eyes
Alcohol stings and can injure the eye. Rinse with water if it splashes, and help kids keep hands away from their faces while it dries.
What about the everyday worries?
Does it dry out your skin?
Less than you’d think. WHO’s guidelines found that alcohol rubs with added moisturizers (like glycerin) are usually less irritating than frequent soap-and-water washing. Dry, cracked hands are more often caused by hot water, harsh soap and not using lotion.
Does it cause antibiotic resistance?
Alcohol kills germs by breaking them apart, and bacteria don’t develop resistance to it the way they do to antibiotics. The concern was about triclosan and similar antibacterial chemicals. In 2019 FDA ruled that 28 ingredients, including triclosan, can no longer be used in consumer hand sanitizers without new approval. Ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and benzalkonium chloride remain allowed while FDA reviews more data.
Does it “weaken your immune system”?
There’s no good evidence of that. Your immune system meets plenty of germs in daily life. Cleaning your hands at key times, like before eating, just cuts down on the ones most likely to make you sick.
- Active ingredient: ethanol (ethyl alcohol) or isopropyl alcohol, at least 60%.
- No methanol or 1-propanol anywhere on the label.
- Search FDA’s list of hand sanitizers not to use, at fda.gov/handsanitizerlist.
- Skip bottles that look like food or drinks, which kids may mistake for juice or candy.
Kids and hand sanitizer
CDC advises supervising children under 6 when they use sanitizer, so they don’t swallow it or rub it in their eyes, and storing it up, away and out of sight. A dime-sized amount is plenty. For kids, soap and water is still the first choice.
If someone swallows it
Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (U.S.) right away, or 911 if the person is drowsy, having trouble breathing or won’t wake up. If a pet swallows sanitizer, call your veterinarian.
Quick questions
Is it bad to use hand sanitizer every day?
No. Using it several times a day is normal in hospitals. If your hands get dry, use a product with moisturizers and put on hand lotion at night.
Can hand sanitizer be absorbed through your skin?
Only a very small amount of alcohol reaches the bloodstream through intact skin during normal use. The real risk is swallowing it.
Is alcohol-free hand sanitizer safer?
Not really. Alcohol-free products usually rely on benzalkonium chloride, and CDC recommends alcohol-based sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol because it works against more germs.
Which hand sanitizers were recalled?
FDA keeps a searchable list of products consumers should not use, mostly for methanol, 1-propanol or benzene contamination. Check it at fda.gov/handsanitizerlist.
- FDA. Safely Using Hand Sanitizer (Consumer Update).
- FDA. Q&A for Consumers: Hand Sanitizers and COVID-19.
- FDA. Hand sanitizers consumers should not use.
- FDA. Frequently Asked Questions on Benzene Contamination in Drugs.
- FDA. Safety and Effectiveness of Consumer Antiseptic Rubs. Final rule. Federal Register, Apr 12, 2019.
- CDC. About Hand Sanitizer.
- CDC. About Hand Hygiene in Schools and Early Care and Education Settings.
- WHO. Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care. 2009.